Ruin by the Sea

The print file prints up to 8.3 x 11.3 in at 300 ppi — enough for a full 6 x 9 in front cover. Wider than a 6 x 9 cover: crop about 10% of the width, or use it as a wraparound across back and spine.

The dark, ruined villa in this painting is made especially mysterious by the strange cypress trees tossed by the wind. A nervous green light flickers through the scene. Influenced by German Romantic art of the early 1800s, Böcklin was preoccupied with dreamlike images suggestive of death.